Are You Excited for the Elections?

Why is There a GOP Enthusiasm Gap This Election Cycle? - via NewsMax TV FreedomWorks President and CEO Matt Kibbe was on America's Forum on Newsmax discussing the enthusiasm gap this election cycle. Watch here... ObamaCare's War on Women - by Julie Borowski It’s been more than four years since the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was signed into law. The American people were promised that the massive 2,700-page bill would fix many problems with our broken health care system. We were told that the new law would boost competition, provide more choice, and lower health care costs for millions of Americans. Women, especially, were targeted in the selling of Obamacare to the public. The Democrats cheerfully said that the health care law would mean access to guaranteed preventive women’s health services. After its passage, it was decided that meant “free” birth control for women. Read more here... Technology is Thriving, So Why Are the Feds Strangling It? - by Wayne Brough A growing number of economists are describing the current slump as a form of secular stagnation, where diminishing outlets for capital investment have slowed economic growth, reduced the demand for labor and stalled the economic recovery. While the technology sector remains one of the few areas of the economy where innovation and growth continue at a rapid pace, the Federal Communications Commission is moving forward with a series of new rules that may shackle this important part of the economy. From new mandates for municipal broadband to redefining what broadband means, to proposals to turn the Internet into a common carrier, the FCC is working to reshape how Americans connect to the Internet. In a recent speech before a tech start-up incubator in Washington, D.C., FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler focused on the need to provide faster broadband connections to American consumers. His comments reinforce the FCC's push for changing the definition of "advanced telecommunications capability" from a broadband speed of 4Mbps to 10Mbps. In fact, Wheeler goes further in his speech, noting that "a 25Mbps connection is fast becoming ‘table stakes' in 21st century communications." Pushing even further, Wheeler states that it is "unacceptable" that 40 percent of American homes do not have access to 100Mbps connections - even though a majority of homes already have access. Read more here... Get Ready for Another Round of Health Plan Cancellations - by Jason Pye There's another round of health insurance policy cancellations coming, and the timing is more than a little awkward for vulnerable Senate Democrats, including Mark Begich (D-AK) and Kay Hagan (D-NC), who will learn their electoral fate next month. While President Obama promised Americans that "if you like your plan, you can keep it," millions of Americans lost their health insurance coverage last year due to regulations promulgated by Obama administration bureaucrats. The "grandfathered plan" rules were written so narrowly that almost any policy change would require a customer to purchase a plan that meets the coverage requirements of ObamaCare. Read more here... Ohio Grassroots Spotlight  - by Noah Wall Saturday September 20, I was privileged to attend the annual We The People Convention in Columbus, Ohio. FreedomWorks and our amazing Ohio activists have taken part in this event each year since it's start four years ago. What's really exceptional about the liberty movement in Ohio is its level of organization. Pundits and "talking heads" in Washington, DC love to bemoan the collapse of the Tea Party, and of the anti-establishment conservative movement, but in reality what we're seeing is the opposite. See more here... One Family's ObamaCare Nightmare  - by Pattie Curran As the mother of two chronically ill children, I have long faced high health care costs. My sons suffer from a rare bone-marrow failure syndrome called Shwachman-Diamond syndrome and have secondary mitochondrial disease that requires treatment with a broad range of expensive medications. We averaged $10,000 to $12,000 a year in billed out-of-pocket medical expenses before Obamacare became law. In 2013, we incurred just over $27,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses. President Obama’s signature piece of legislation has more than doubled our yearly medical costs. Having read the then-proposed Affordable Care Act in 2010, I was skeptical of the legislation from the start. I knew that a vast expansion of government involvement in health care would create unintended consequences, and I publicly warned my own senator, Kay R. Hagan, North Carolina Democrat, about the impact the legislation would have on my children. Though she denied the truth of my claims at the time, almost everything I imagined would happen because of the law has come to fruition. Read more here... Top Ten Reasons to Let the Export-Import Bank Expire  - by Josh Withrow 1. It Has Outlived Its Purpose The Ex-Im Bank was founded 80 years ago by FDR to promote U.S. manufacturing during the Great Depression. Meanwhile, in the 2010s, U.S. exports have been setting record highs – they don’t need government help. 2. It Lets Government Pick Winners and Losers Although Ex-Im claims to pick its recipients in a neutral manner, the reality is that political pressures strongly affect who receives its financial backing. For example, in 2009 the Obama administration gave Ex-Im a “green energy” quota for a portion of its loans. Read more here... New Jersey Grassroots Spotlight - by Deneen Borelli During the last weekend in September, Tom and I had a fantastic opportunity to speak at two grassroots activist meetings in New Jersey.  While New Jersey is a deep blue state, there are thousands of passionate patriots that are motivated to move the state in a conservative direction. See more here... Sign up for the FreedomWorks Morning Update If you want an update like this newsletter twice a week, be sure to sign up for the Freedom Works Morning Update! The Morning Update is your tool to keep up-to-date with all the threats to your freedom. Sign up here. In Liberty, Adam Brandon Executive Vice President, FreedomWorks Forward To A Friend | Update Your Email Preferences 400 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 765 Washington, DC 20001